Westmoreland County Food Bank honors its volunteers of the year
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Even in the midst of personal tragedy, Robbyn Slavin did not miss a beat as volunteer coordinator for the Charter Oak Church Food Pantry.
“It’s important to me to keep with the commitments I agree to,” Slavin said.
In December 2016, Slavin, 46, and her husband, Ron, were at a Red Cross dinner when they got a frantic phone call from their daughter informing them their Greensburg house was on fire.
The house was gutted, but Slavin kept working for the food pantry through the months of rebuilding.
“Through it all, she demonstrated remarkable strength, never missing a (monthly) pantry distribution and handing her reports in on time,” said Betsy Hunt, pantry coordinator.
On Thursday, Slavin received the 2019 Volunteer of the Year award from the Westmoreland County Food Bank. Comcast was named the Volunteer Group of the Year.
Louise Wilhelm, the food bank’s volunteer director, said Slavin makes everyone at the pantry distributions feel welcome and greets them with a smile.
“She wears many hats — she is the volunteer coordinator, record keeper and civil rights trainer for the food pantry,” Wilhelm said.
Slavin oversees an average of 70 volunteers a month, something she’s been doing since Hunt first asked her more than six years ago. The food pantry serves an estimated 220 families a month.
“I don’t know how she gets all that paperwork done so efficiently,” Hunt said. “She is willing to learn and serve and adjust as the paperwork changes — still smiling.”
Slavin and Comcast were recognized Thursday at the food bank’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. In 2018, more than 6,000 volunteers donated nearly 100,000 hours to the food bank.
“That is the equivalent of nearly 48 additional staff,” said CEO Jennifer Miller. “That is just amazing to me, and I am in awe of their generosity.”
Comcast was recognized for holding the annual Comcast Cares Day, which started in 2001, for being a Hunger Action Month sponsor and for providing volunteers for different events.
Keystone Regional Comcast Cares employees and their families have packed more than 1,300 Commodity Supplemental Food Program boxes for senior citizens in the last three years, Wilhelm said.
They also have made more than $6,000 in matching donations.